The games
by CaliskeXP
Summary: 10 games 1 life 1 purpose: SURVIVE
1. Prologue

"What are you doing?"

The question sounds loud in the silent room wherein Cas was working. He has been hiding in his workroom for a few weeks now and has been secretive about what he is creating. Not that Dean is particularly worried. Cas never likes it when Dean sees his creation before he has finished them.

Dean had met Castiel in the mental hospital where he had volunteered to take care of the patients. It had been for his brother, who had been hospitalized for being schizophrenic. Dean was prohibited to go see him, so he had found another way in.

Sam Winchester was all Dean had left of his family. He had taken care of his brother starting the minute his mother died in a house fire. Dean had been in his own room when it happened, but little Sammy had seen it happening. The older Winchester cannot imagine how bad it must have been for a four year old to see his mother die in an explosion. And if it wasn't for his father, Sam would have died too, but the man was able to pull Sam and Dean out of the house before anyone else could have gotten hurt.  
After the funeral Sam had told Dean that he saw who killed their mother. What had killed her.

Sam had never been the same after that. He saw things that weren't there, often getting scared of monsters only he could see. His older brother, of course, trying to protect him.

But their father didn't care of that. He became an alcoholic, not being able to process his wife's death. Sam's problems only got him more angry than he already was. Dean tried to shield his brother from the drunk beatings John gave him for being 'a freak'. Dean would take them for Sam, hoping he wouldn't get more scared.  
Sam's condition only got worse.

At the age of twenty, Dean got the news that his father had been killed in a car crash. He couldn't say he cared much. The last time he had seen that drunk bastard had been when he turned eigthteen, the night before he took Sam, most of the money they still had, the car and left. It was the best decision Dean had ever made.

They had been able to find a small flat in a town so small it wasn't even marked on the map. Dean had gotten a job as mechanic in a near, bigger village that got him good money to survive.  
But things didn't turn out as he hoped it would. Sam didn't get better, only got worse. It was the right decision for the 27 year old Dean, to send Sam to see a specialist.

Not a year later, Sam tried killing the man. He had thought he was one of the demons haunting him and had snapped. Ever since than he had been stuck in a mental hospital nearby, labeled as one of the most dangerous patient they have inside. And Dean, he was left on his own in the small flat, eventually deciding to do something about it and volunteering.

Volunteering hadn't the easiest thing Dean has ever done though, but it is interesting learning how the patients see the world. He had been glad, he was finally helping people and doing something with his life, besides being a mechanic in the mornings. After a while he had been allowed to take care of Sam, even though the lifeless stare his brother has always makes him feel sad.

Either way, Dean enjoys the stories of the patients. His favorite one to spend time with is Emma, a girl of only fourteen years old, placed for being bipolar. Her mood swings had been uncontrollable. Her anger was so bad that she almost killed one of her bullies once, something she isn't proud of.

And it's her who first told him about Castiel.

"It was bad, but I'm glad I'm getting better. Or that I'm not as bad as Castiel." She had said with a slight shrug.

"Castiel?" Dean had asked her curiously. He had been working there for a week at that time and he hadn't heard that name before.

"One of the worst patients in here, if not the worst." She told him. "But he too is getting better. I heard they are going to release him soon."

In her smile Dean had been able to read she got hope out of Castiel's story.

"He is here for MPD. Sometimes he gets crazy. When he first got here, years ago, he killed a nurse, but I guess he is okay to leave now. The pills work and he has everything under control."

Only three days later Dean had been asked to go bring Castiel his pills.

Dean never believed in love at first sight, but for some reason, laying his eyes on Cas did something with him. The pleasant feeling of nerves in his stomach had made him stutter his way through the small talk with Castiel.  
It had been the beginning of something beautiful.

Three months later, Dean found Castiel walking beside the road with nothing, but a small bag of belongings in his hand. The man had been released during Dean's shift.

"Hey, Cas." Dean smiled when he stopped his car next to the car and rolled his window down. "Enjoying your freedom?"

Cas had stilled his movements and looks at Dean. "I would be lying if I told you I am." He spoke. "But it is nice to see the nature from up close again. It has always calmed me down."

Dean frowns at him. "What's the matter than?"

Castiel looks down. "I have nowhere to go. I don't have any money." He sighs.

Dean had offered him to stay with him, an offer Castiel hadn't turned down.

And now, four years later, Dean and Castiel are still together, living in the flat that Dean had hired for him and Sam. It was big enough for the two of them. They shared everything anyway, because Castiel loves Dean and Dean loves Castiel.  
Dean makes sure Castiel takes his pills every day before he leaves to work. He still volunteers, but not as often anymore.

The extra room they have, Dean had transformed to a nice little workroom for his boyfriend after finding out Castiel was secretly a genius. He can create things with technology never thought of before. One time he made Dean a mechanic bird to bring him a love letter at work.  
The teleporter he had created to send small things through time and space had been sold to the government for a large amount of money. Not that Dean cared for that. All he needed was his Cas by his side.

"I'm working." Castiel answers Dean question of what he was doing as he stands up quickly to push Dean out of the room. "And how many times did I tell you not to look!" He snaps, making Dean widens his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cas. It's just... You haven't been out of that room for weeks and I miss you." Dean says, staring into the smaller man's blue eyes.

"I don't fucking care, Dean! I told you to stay out!" His voice keeps getting louder. "Now, fuck off!" He yells and slams the door shut behind him after he went back into the room.

Dean sighs. This hadn't been the first time in the last few weeks Castiel yelled at him. He never did before all this weird acting happened: Disappearing in that stupid room for days, being angry at Dean, sneaking out of the house at midnight, ...

Dean worries about his lover. He just wishes Castiel would tell him what is wrong.

Going down to the kitchen, Dean figures he really needs a beer. Just one to calm down little. He opens the fridge to take one, but his eyes fall on the box of pills on the counter.

Dean closes the fridge again and picks up the box in his hand. Even without opening the box he knows something is off, his thoughts being confirmed when he opens the lit.

Castiel hasn't been taking his pills for a while.

Dean groans and places them back down. These are worries for tomorrow. Now he wants a beer and then some sleep.

When Dean finally goes to bed, he knows Castiel won't join him tonight. His boyfriend is mad and will work all night at whatever he is doing in there.

Dean sighs once he is settled into the blankets.

"It will all be alright." He whispers to himself, turning onto his side and falling asleep.

Dean only realizes how wrong he was the next morning, when he wakes up in a cage gasping.


	2. Chapter 1: Game 1

Dean is shocked to say at least. The last thing he would expect to happen to him is to wake up in an iron cage, in a dark room with only one bright light shining from the ceiling. The room is empty for the rest: no furniture, no windows, no other cages, nothing. Except the door on the opposite side of the room.

Dean gets up from the floor and stands up straight. The cage is large enough for him and he has some space to move around. The bars over his head he can't reach without standing on anything. Upon trying to get a hold of the iron bars and seeing he maybe can slip out between them, Dean realizes that he is surrounded by a glass cage also.

He groans and starts to bang his hands on the glass. "Hello? Anyone? What is going on here?" He yells in desperation, hoping that someone will be able to hear him. "Cas?"

The door opposite of the cage opens with a loud creaking sound and Dean recognizes the silhouette of his boyfriend immediately.

"Cas?" Dean drops his arms next to his body, giving up on trying to break the glass. "What is this? What's going on?" His heart is beating rapidly in his chest.

Castiel steps into the room slowly, his arms crossed in front of his chest like he has all the time in the world to get to Dean, but the moment the light falls on the face Dean fell in love with, Dean's heart skips a beat. And not in a good way. He had seen the evil smirk on his boyfriend's face only one time before, back in the hospital when a nurse had shown Dean the images of what happened when Castiel had killed the nurse. Minutes before he had attacked her with a fork the same smirk had been on his face.

Realization strikes Dean as an arrow. Castiel hasn't been taking his pills and now his other personality has taken over once again. This might mean he will kill Dean.

"Hello, Dean." His deep voice sounds through the room and Dean gets goosebumps all over his skin.

Dean takes a step away from the glass. "Why am I here?" He asks, trying to sound braver than he feels, looking Castiel straight in the eye. If he is going to die, he wants to know why at least.

"Well, my dear boyfriend, that's the million dollar question, isn't it?" Castiel grins at him and steps even closer to the cage. He raises his hand to get a hold of one of the iron bars.

"I just want to test a little something, darling. You don't have to worry too much about it." He chuckles. "I think maybe, we made a too quick decision in becoming boyfriends and all. I mean, I don't even know if you are worthy."

Dean follows Castiel as he walks around the cage, his hand dragging behind him and hitting each bar with a loud clank. "So I've been working on something. A few tests so you can prove yourself to me. Ten in total. If you pass them all we can live together, be lovers, anything you want."

Castiel stops walking when he reaches the backside of the cage and turns to face Dean. "We can be so happy together. Maybe I'll even let you into my workroom and show you how I make things." He shrugs blushing, almost like the man Dean fell in love with. "I know how badly you wanted to see that."

"And what if I don't pass them?" Dean asks rapidly and Castiel shrugs, smiling sweetly at him.

"Then you die."

Dean swallows. He could have guessed that was the answer. "You would let me die? Just like that? Do the last four years mean anything at all for you?"

"Not if you aren't able to pass the tests." Castiel replies swiftly and he starts walking around the cage again. The clank of his hand against the bars makes Dean flinch each time. "You mean nothing to me if you can't pass."

Dean places his hands against the glass as he yells at him. "You can't do this me! This is not my Castiel speaking! You just forget your pills, baby. Let me out. We can make it through this. We can be happy again."

"Silence!" Castiel yells at him loudly. It echoes around the room. "I'm part of your Castiel. Nothing can stop this now. The only way to get out of this is to pass the tests."

Dean frowns sadly at the ground, realization downing on him that he will probably die in here. If Castiel has put any of his technology in the tests there is no way he will be able to make it out alive. Dean has seen what he can create.

"Ready for the first test, Dean?"

He isn't ready. He won't ever be ready for any of this tests Castiel has planned. "What is the first test exactly?" He asks, looking up into the familiar blue eyes.

Castiel grins sweetly. "Nothing to difficult." He assures him. "You just have to escape the cage." He tells him with a shrug. Dean frowns at him. That seems too easy, especially for Castiel. A quick look around the cage gives him the knowledge of a silver padlock sitting in the upper right corner of the cage. The bars over the glass box will give him enough room to open the little panel and slip out between them, even though he can't reach it like this.

"What's the catch?" He asks, still looking at Cas suspiciously.

Cas smirks. "You will figure it out, big guy. You are smart enough." When he finishes his words, Dean sees him getting a device from his pocket. A little rush of panic goes through him. This is his technology. Dean is dead, for sure. "Good luck, Dean." Cas' pushes the bright green button with his thumb.

Dean doesn't waste any time figuring out what the button is for as he starts to jump up to the padlock. He doesn't even get close to it. He is too small. Not for the first time he swears to himself and curses whoever decided that his brother Sam got all the extra inches.

Ignoring the amused stare of his boyfriend outside the cage, Dean tries to climb up the walls. He puts his back against the glass corner of the cage and tries to push himself up with his feet against the walls. It's no use as he has to give up and put his boots back onto the wet floor of the cage.

Wait... wet?

With a gasp Dean realizes that the cage is filling with water, which is bubbling up rapidly out of the underside of the glass tank. He can feel the water already dripping into his shoes.

The bastard is going to drown him.

A rush of adrenaline runs through him at the new information about this test. He has to survive.

As a crazy man, Dean starts to try and climb up the walls again. He needs to get to the padlock first and find out where the key is. He figures it has to be close to the padlock since he can't see a key anywhere else. Or at least, the key will be above his head somewhere, where it is difficult to grab it.

The water is climbing up his legs and reaches his knee. Dean's jeans is starting to soak and feel heavy around his legs. He curses as he once again fails to climb to the closed panel. The water is making his shoes slippery. Dean can't even get a little higher then the water is high. "Dammit, Cas. At least give me a hint." He begs and looks at him for the first time the test started.

"Oh no, Dean. That just wouldn't be fair." He says amused.

"I need a key." Dean says and before he can go on, Cas starts applauding slowly and sarcastically. "Well done, Dean. What gave it away? The lock?" He asks with a sneer.

Dean rolls his eyes. "There is no goddamn key in here, you bastard. Just give me something to go on with." Dean shivers as the water reaches his stomach. It's cold.

Castiel shakes his head. "I am not giving you any clues, Dean. The test would fail if I did. Isn't the purpose of this for me to see how well you know me? All of me?"

The water keeps climbing up as Dean reflects on the words of his boyfriend. It reaches his chest and Dean gasps. The water. He can use it to reach the padlock once the cage is filled enough. But what about a key?

 _'How well you know me.'_

Cas' words run through his mind as he thinks. He was never able to completely understand the man, but Dean has a pretty good idea of how Cas might think in this situation. He used glass to build the cage. Glass and water.

Dean groans. The clue must be in these words.

A memory floats up to the surface about last time Dean went swimming into a glass swimming pool. He hadn't even seen the wall when he dove under and had swam face first into the wall. Cas had been laughing his ass off at his fail and later explained to him how glass turned completely transparent in water. You can't see it at all.

A smile comes over his face as Dean finds the solution. The key must be made of glass, probably hidden into one of the walls.

Quickly Dean steps towards the wall and starts feeling around for an unevenness in the glass. His fingers slide over the parts still out of reach from the water, but finds nothing. The key must be underneath the water then. Dean is already up to his chest in the water and tries to keep his head out of it as he lets his hands slide over the wet surface of the glass cage at the height of his middle.

A triumphant smile lights up his face as he feels a small indention in the glass wall. He tries to pry in it with his fingers and soon he has a key in his hand. Now all he has to do is wait till the water is up high enough to open the lock.

Dean looks up at Castiel, who is looking at him curiously. "How did you figure it out?" He asks and Dean shrugs.

"A memory." He simply answers as the water rises higher and he has to start kicking his legs to stay afloat.

"Impressive." Castiel speaks as he pushes another button on the remote. The water starts to fill the cage faster. Soon, Dean is able to reach the padlock. He puts the key in it and twists. Nothing happens.

"But not impressive enough." He hears the pleasure in Castiel's voice.

Dean's eyes widen as he twists the key again. It's not the right key. He swears. There has to be another one somewhere, but who knows how many other keys there are and how much time he has before the water has filled the space completely.

He starts to feel around for another key desperately. There is no key in the ceiling of the cage and he has checked a big part of the walls already. His best guess is to go for the floor.

Dean has his face pressed against the upper part of the cage to be able to breath. He has one chance to get this right. He will die if he gets it wrong.

Taking one last breath of air, Dean dives under and swims towards the bottom. His fingers are shaking as he searches for another key.

He can feel the oxygen leave his body and the water presses down on his lungs. He is running out of air slowly and still no key.

Black spots start to dance before his eyes. His body is begging him for fresh air. And then he feels the key underneath his fingers. Dean clenches his hand around it and prays that this one will be the right key.

As fast as he can and with the black spots dancing in front of his eyes he swims up towards the lock. The cage is now completely filled with water. Dean reaches for the lock and tries to put the key into it. When he sees the lock open his heart jumps in relief. He pushes open the hatch and pushes himself out into the air. He takes a deep breath and starts coughing.

Eventually the green eyed man manages to crawl out of the death box and climb down to the floor. He lays down on the floor, still trying to catch his breath as he pants, forming a puddle on the ground.

Castiel appears in his field of view. He has a curious frown on his face. "I didn't expect you to make it out alive anymore." He tells him as if he is talking about the weather. "But, well done. I'm impressed." Cas snaps his fingers and from the corner of his eyes Dean can see someone coming in. "Bring him to his room." Castiel commands the person and walks out of the room without another word to Dean.

Dean doesn't have time to call for his boyfriend when he is grabbed by his collar roughly and lifted up with inhuman strength, only to be thrown over a hard shoulder. Dean groans in pain as the thing, because this thing is definitely no human, carries him to 'his room'.

Not much later, Dean is put down inside a plain white room that looks a lot like the rooms they had in the asylum. There is a small bed in one corner, a toilet in the other corner and a table with a chair in the last corner that doesn't have the door. Dean only manages to get a short glance at the thing that brought him here and sees a robot shut the door and lock it.

He sighs and walks towards the clothes he saw on the table. He undresses himself and towels himself down. Then he gets dressed in his own sweats and t-shirt Cas must have left him.

Dean falls down on the bed and closes his eyes. This is not how he expected his relationship to go. They told him Castiel would be fine with the pills. Skipping a few days wouldn't matter. The nurses where wrong. The idea of the tests to prove himself is crazy. He barely survived the first one and there are a lot more to come. Who knows how much more crazy they will be.

Dean turns on his side and stares at the wall. He knows he won't survive. Castiel is a genius. His technology will defeat Dean eventually.

Rubbing his eyes with his hands, Dean finds a note on the pillow next to his head that wasn't there a second ago. He picks it up and reads the text on it. He recognize the handwriting immediately as Cas'.

 _You really impressed me today, Dean. I have to say you did a good job on the first test. Rest now. Food will be brought to you in an hour. Tomorrow you will have to face the second test. I can't wait, darling.  
_ _Goodnight for now  
~Cas x_


End file.
